EPILOGUE (ATLAS ROUTE)

That one sunny day when Lone man drew his last breath, you felt as if your whole world shifted. On your lap, the wind carried him away until there was nothing left but his tattered coat and bones. You carried what was left of him and decided to bury him in the same spot where he had just sat a while ago. In the dandelion fields, you decided to put his remains to rest.

The next person you saw afterwards was John. He was carrying his shotgun, huffing and puffing as he trudged along the path towards Lone man's house. When he saw you, his face crumpled.

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Like what happened to Lone man, you and John saw skeletal remains near the wooden staircase that led to the town. It was undoubtedly Atlas based on the clothes.

"I wish I was there to comfort him in his last moments," John said.

***

It has been more than a month since the event that shattered the curse of the Old Helios. You, John, and a few trusted people together helped clean the town of Old Helios. All the bones were given proper burial, and the town, the church, Lone man's half-brother's house, Lone man's house, and the dandelion field were all sealed off and labeled as a no-trespassing zone.

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The rest of the forest was open for visitors. Some areas became popular as picnic spots, especially the area near the lake. Most of it became camping grounds. The influx of people exploring the forest made John so busy that he started considering hiring an assistant.

The new head librarian, a friend of Lucille, helped you write down all that has happened, concluding all the mysteries of the past years. She placed it in the archive, which was now called Lucille's Archive as a tribute to all her tremendous efforts of piecing together the mysteries of Old Helios through the years. The archive was sealed, putting all the strange history to rest.

Some of the people who had fled before came back. In just more than a month, the streets have become livelier. Sammy's Sammich reopened, and the business has been great ever since. The parts of New Helios where the disaster took place were cleaned up, and although it was safe to visit, many still chose not to.

After two months, your parents made the decision to move. It didn't surprise you anymore since you've always been the never-settling-in-one-place kind of family. It just saddens you that this time, there were no friends left to say goodbye to—unless you count John. John didn't take the news very well; he wanted to talk to your parents and convince them to stay. He even offered you to take Atlas's room, work as his assistant, and still go to school, but you knew that he was probably saying all these things because he misses Atlas.

In the end, John accompanied you one last time to where Lone man was buried. You whispered a soft goodbye to the wind as you pressed your palm on the soft soil.

You left the town of New Helios, embarking on a new journey ahead.

THE END

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Author’s Note: Thank you very much to those who supported the Lone Man book! I hope you enjoyed the journey. If you’d like to start the Lone Man route, you can start at Page 46.

Again, thank you so much!

Phew~ now, it’s time to write a new book! 👀